1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electromagnetic relay which opens and closes an electric circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
According to a conventional electromagnetic relay described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-351240, a fixed contact is positioned and held at a predetermined position by a fixed contact holding member, and a movable member, on which a moving contact is attached, is driven by electromagnetic force of a magnet coil, so that the moving contact is engaged with and disengaged from the fixed contact. Accordingly, the conventional relay opens and closes an electric circuit. Furthermore, a magnet is disposed near the moving contact and the fixed contact, and the conventional relay breaks arc, which is generated when the moving contact is disengaged from the fixed contact, as a result of extension of the arc by applying Lorentz force thereto. In addition, by extending a portion of the fixed contact holding member near the fixed contact and a portion of the movable member near the moving contact in a direction away from the magnet, the arc is not directed toward a side of the fixed contact holding member and the movable member.
However, the arc sometimes cannot be extended sufficiently, and thereby the arc cannot be reliably broken simply by disposing the magnet near the moving contact and the fixed contact as in the conventional electromagnetic relay. In an electromagnetic relay for high voltage (for example, a relay used for a hybrid electric vehicle with voltage of 400V), in particular, it is difficult to break the arc reliably because arc length becomes long.